I remember back in 1987 getting a red light ticket in downtown Lincoln Nebraska on my way to campus. They had a trap set up for cyclist.

Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago ago #245191

Sandaltan:
This reflects quite poorly on the Polk County Sheriff’s office.

http://cathyosreflections.blogspot.com/2012/06/struggling-with-injustice-and-losing.html?m=1

RIDE RIGHT

I agree.

Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago ago #245236

Always amazed at the ability of so many respondents to make their biases known when it is so painfully obvious they never even read the article and just assumed the bikes were in the wrong. It is as always, Bikers are lower than whaleshit on the scale of basic evolution and people treat us as such. We see it every day with these kinds of stories and most worrisome, is when one of us is struck and the fines/penalties/or lack thereof are most always minuscule or worse yet, non-existent because judges seem to think that cars/drivers are “entitled” to drive poorly and biking is our risk. Lotsa sarcasm back there … I hope she fights to the end. I’d bet thsi community will rally a great deal of support, both written on her blog and elsewhere as well as in the form of check$. Probably a good thing we are not going thru Des Moines this year …

Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago ago #245240

The comments to this story make for some interesting reading. There is really is alot of driver rage out there and it is frequently taken out on riders like the 2 ladies who were actually following the rules of the road. I think one thing bikers can and should do is follow the mantra of “same road same rules.” There is no question that way too many bikers, often people without much riding experience, fail to understand that you need stop at signs and lights, whether you’re on a bike or in a car. In my experience the more experience you have riding a bike the more you realize that. Way too often riders give drivers with rage issues a reason to express their rage on the next biker they see.

Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago ago #245518

course plenty of drivers are just as guilty of rolling throught stop signs but when they slow from 30 to 3 they fell like they have “stopped” They see a bike slow down from 15 to 3 and they “Blew right through without stopping” And I see plenty of drivers 2-3 houses away from a light when it turns yellow stomp on the gas to try to beat it. A lot more instruction needs to take place in drivers ed classes.

On those trails I am always ready to stop at a crossing if there is traffic coming. as discussed on the HTT page, I think most of those STOP signs should be replaced by YIELD signs. Crossing 210, 17 R-38 and a couple in Ankeny are about the only Stop signs really needed.

One last thing, how can they not see people on bikes as people with famalies and friends just like themselves and not objects in their way that might delay them a few seconds? How would their famalies feel if they didn’t come home one day because someone with a bigger or faster vehical forced them off the road or threw a bottle out the window and hurt them? (Just a week ago a friend was hit by a bottle thrown from a Colo-Nesco SCHOOL BUS just north of Slater)

Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago ago #245543

Oops, jwsknk! I posted on the same thing at the same time you did. And yes, yield signs would be more than adequate. Silliness, really, to make every biker stop their bike at every street in those tiny villages. It feels ridiculous, like I’m working my way through a “safety village” set in grade school. Not that there’s anything wrong with safety, it should be everyone’s first priority when riding. But, this particular incident is really not about safety, although that’s what the sheriff’s department is going to use as their defense for the rough treatment of the two bikers.

Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago ago #245551

Hey Long Way Rider? What does putting a foot down have to do with it? I stop at ALL stop signs and lights. In wisconsin we only have to wait 45 secs at a light or if clear, and is probably light will not change, riders can proceed. I have no trouble doing a track stand while I wait (I ride a SS Track bike). Never had an issue here. This thread started with two ladies who were ticketed, probably unjustly, and it has devolved to a discussion of how at fault we are for bringing this on ourselves.
Why is it not focusing more on how we can get the perception changed? Stopping and sitting isn’t doing it. We’ve had a long campaign here for complaince and yet, we are stil reviled in so many places. We’ve had a number of car vs rider deaths here this year … they are not prosecuted beyond tickets? WTF? THe system is the one at fault now. We are and have been responding, when will the courts and legislature stand up for our rights? hmmmm?

Posted 10 months, 3 weeks ago ago #245576